1. Field
The disclosed embodiments generally relate to the application of coatings such as paint to surfaces, and deals more particularly with a device and method for painting patterns or features such as lines on a surface.
2. Background
When applying coatings such as paint on a surface, it is often necessary to mask those areas of the surface that are not intended to be coated. Mask materials, such as masking tape and/or paper may be used to form clean lines and/or shapes on the surface. For example, in the aircraft industry, lines, numbers and decorative features may be painted on the fuselage, wings and/or stabilizers of an aircraft.
In the past, in order to paint lines on the wings of an airplane, strips of masking tape and craft paper have been used to mask off those areas around the lines that are to be painted. The exposed areas of the wing surface between strips of the masking tape were then spray-painted, following which the masking tape was removed, leaving painted lines. This process had a number of disadvantages. Paint creep could occur beneath the masking tape, reducing the sharpness of the edges of the lines. The edge of masked-off paint lines may reduce aerodynamics and increase drag, and therefore fuel costs. Also, the preparation process involving layout and application of the masking tape and craft paper was time-consuming, labor-intensive and added to material costs. Finally, in those cases where the lines were to be painted over a fresh basecoat of paint on the airplane, it was necessary to wait until the basecoat was fully cured before the masking tape could be applied for painting lines, thereby adding to aircraft production time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device and method for painting features such as lines on a surface that eliminates the need for masking materials and improves the sharpness and smoothness of the edges of the lines. There is also a need for an automated method of painting lines on a surface that obviates the need for manually masking of areas of the surface while also reducing VOC's (volatile organic compounds).